Alison Marsden, Gardening by Design

Textured Urban Garden Description

Site

The garden is approximately 7m in each direction, it is level but the side boundaries are not perpendicular to the house – it is a parallelogram. .A neighbouring tree overhangs the rear of the garden but in general the space is not over-shaded and there are no special soil conditions to be addressed. The garden faces west: morning sun shines on the rear boundary and evening sun lights the area closest to the house.

Requirements

Low maintenance garden for inexperienced gardeners but no grass

Attractive view of entire garden from first floor rear window (Garden belong to 1st floor flat)

Space for a barbecue and seating for entertaining

Emphasis on summer use

There are no children in the family, so no need for play area etc.

Plan

Lay the whole area to slate chippings over a permeable membrane and plant robust perennials through the membrane in drifts. There are no defined beds or borders. This maximises the effect of space in a small garden by a single horizontal surface. It makes for a flexible space for larger parties by allowing people to walk and talk through the plants and to sit anywhere instead of defining fixed paths and patios. A sunny area close to the eastern boundary is left free of plants as this is used regularly for seating.

Planting approach

Herbs for use in kitchen and barbecue also provide fragrance

Tall but feathery plants provide a screen without totally blocking view and light

Architectural plants provide focus and sense of the exotic

Bronze and purple plants to provide a contrast with the grey slate chippings

Grey leaved plants to echo the grey of the slate

All plants are hardy, easy to source and require no special cultivation and minimum maintenance

Selection from plant list

Latin name	Common name	Description	Height & Spread cm	Maintenance
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’		Silver grey evergreen shrub, fragrant and feathery	45x30	Cut back to 20cms in April
Phyllostachys nigra	Black bamboo	Slender bamboo canes, purple-black from 2^nd year	300x100	Very little maintenance, just remove tatty stems
Cynara cardunculus	Cardoon	Huge perennial with grey leaves and thistle like flowers	150x90	Cut down to 20cms in autumn when hit by frost
Euonymous fortunei ‘Silver Queen’		Small leaves variegated green and cream, shrub and also scrambles up walls.	100x90 on a wall	Remove any stems that revert to plain green leaves
Foeniculum vulgare Purpureum	Bronze fennel	Fine feathery leaves in true bronze, very tactile. A see-through plant	150x45	Cut old stems down to 10cms in autumn or spring whenever they get tatty & irritate you.
Fatsia japonica		Large glossy green hand-shaped leaves. Looks exotic but fully hardy	200x200 in a pot	None until it gets too big then cut back at will in April
Stipa gigantea	Giant golden oats	Fine leaves 45cm; flowers 2m resembling giant oats	200x90	Cut old stems down to 10cms in autumn or spring whenever they get tatty & irritate you.
Miscanthus sinensis		Tall grass with prominent flower plumes in late summer. Several good cultivars with: striped leaves or purple flower spikes	180x60	Cut old stems down to 10cms in autumn or spring whenever they get tatty & irritate you.
Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’	Black grass	Thick strap-like arching leaves, and tiny pink flowers	15x15
Phormium tenax	New Zealand flax	Several types – variegated red or yellow	90x90	Remove dead leaves from base in spring, if there are any
Trachelospermum jasminoides	Star Jasmine	Fairly vigorous climber for trellis, small glossy leaves and star shaped fragrant white flowers in summer	3m	Cut backi n spring if it gets out of control